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Date Posted: 4/4/2007
ASHEVILLE, NC, — The Blue Ridge Entrepreneurial Council (BREC) announced today that the recipient of its first ever Entrepreneur of the Month Award is Scott Blackwell, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Immaculate Baking Company in Flat Rock, NC.
A "serial entrepreneur" in the food business for over 20 years, Scott Blackwell launched Immaculate Baking (www.immaculatebaking.com) in 1995 and has built a company known for its imaginative cookie flavors, organic ingredients and folk-art decorated packaging. Last year, Immaculate Baking became the first company working with BREC and the Blue Ridge Angel Investors Network (BRAIN) to attract venture capital investment when Blackwell raised $2 million from Sherbrooke Capital Partners. BRAIN had helped Blackwell raise another $600,000 from local investors.
“We are delighted with the success of Immaculate Baking and the role AdvantageWest has played through BREC and BRAIN in supporting them,” said Mike Fulenwider, CEO of Fulenwider Enterprises and AdvantageWest Board Champion for Entrepreneurship in the region. Mr. Fulenwider will formally recognize Mr. Blackwell at the April 19th AdvantageWest Board meeting. Immaculate Baking has rapidly expanded to produce not only its award-winning original flavors of delicious cookies made with organic ingredients, but also its 100% organic line of cookies for children. Sales for the company increased by over 125% in 2006 and production has doubled, so it’s fitting that Scott Blackwell is recognized for his vision and leadership by receiving BREC’s first ever Entrepreneur of the Month award.
“I am both surprised and honored to receive this award,” said Blackwell. All of us at Immaculate Baking are appreciative of the great support we’ve received from BREC and this recognition means a lot to us.” Blackwell remains passionate about the food business. He still develops all of his company’s recipes and can be found most days scouring the grocery aisles for signs of new products and new trends. Aside from his dedication to Immaculate Baking, he is also an avid folk art collector, founder of the Folk Artist's Foundation and a filmmaker, having recently completed a 10-year documentary project about Southern folk artists entitled "All Rendered Truth."
About the Blue Ridge Entrepreneurial Council
The Blue Ridge Entrepreneurial Council, or BREC, is a program of the AdvantageWest Economic Development Group (www.advantagewest.com) Western North Carolina’s regional economic development commission; BREC is a nurturing organization for entrepreneurs in western North Carolina that focuses on education, networking and mentoring, communications and capital formation.
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